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New Satellite Images of Oil Spill Show Its Spread [PICS]

As seen in satellite images published today by Google, pollution from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is rapidly spreading from the Gulf of Mexico to the neighboring shorelines of the southeastern United States.

On April 25, five days after the initial BP oil well blowout, the oil appeared as a large streak in the Gulf of Mexico in satellite photos. Twenty-two days later, the oil continued to pollute these waters and was in danger of reaching more areas of of the Gulf Coast, a beautiful environment that is home to around 400 species of seabirds, whales, dolphins, turtles and more.

Scientists monitoring the spill also say the oil has reached currents that could carry the pollution to Florida and possibly to the waters along the East Coast. Because of underwater oil plumes, there may be an amount of oil beneath the ocean's surface equal to what we can see on the Gulf's topmost layer.

Experts are now estimating as many as 6 million gallons of oil have been spilled so far. Google hopes these images will assist those working to protect coastal areas from the damaging effects of the spill.

Here are Google's pictures of the spill on April 25, May 9 and May 17:

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